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第3章 你喊他一声他会答应吗？

His sons and daughters, who had been very uneasy at his longabsence, rushed to meet him, eager to know the result of hisjourney, which, seeing him mounted upon a splendid horse andwrapped in a rich mantle, they supposed to be favorable. But hehid the truth from them at first, only saying sadly to Beauty ashe gave her the rose:

a dark forest, and seemed to be the most dismal place upon theface of the earth. As they were too poor to have any servants,the girls had to work hard, like peasants, and the sons, for theirpart, cultivated the fields to earn their living. Roughly clothed,and living in the simplest way, the girls regretted unceasingly theluxuries and amusements of their former life; only the youngesttried to be brave and cheerful. She had been as sad as anyonewhen misfortune first overtook her father, but, soon recoveringher natural gaiety, she set to work to make the best of things, toamuse her father and brothers as well as she could, and to tryto persuade her sisters to join her in dancing and singing. Butthey would do nothing of the sort, and, because she was not asdoleful as themselves, they declared that this miserable life wasall she was fit for. But she was really far prettier and clevererthan they were; indeed, she was so lovely that she was alwayscalled Beauty. After two years, when they were all b

bitterly.

And then her dreams changed, but the charming Prince figuredin them all; and when morning came her first thought was to lookat the portrait and see if it was really like him, and she found thatit certainly was.

And then she tenderly embraced Beauty and the Prince, whohad meanwhile been greeting the Fairy and receiving her con-gratulations.

"Good-evening, Beast."

So she got up and began to explore some of the many roomsof the palace.

"Ah! Beauty, have you the heart to desert an unhappy Beastlike this? What more do you want to make you happy? Is itbecause you hate me that you want to escape?"

"Good-evening, Beauty," she answered cheerfully and man-aged to conceal her terror. Then the Beast asked her how shehad been amusing herself, and she told him all the rooms she hadseen.